Egypt’s Baha’is Still Having ID Problems

March 15, 2010

Author: Mohamed Abdel Salam

Source: Bikya Masr

http://bikyamasr.com/?p=9906

The spokesman for the Baha’i community in Egypt, Rauf el-Hendi said last week that the crisis of social status on the country’s national identity cards for hundreds of the married, divorced and widowed Baha’is is still a growing concern. He said this comes despite continuous promises by government officials to consider this issue as a “prelude to finding solutions,” pointing out that the absence of a real breakthrough to the crisis caused by the “purposeful disruption by several government departments for the families of Baha’is.”

He added that the community is “facing serious difficulties in banking transactions, and in the issuance or renewal of driving licenses, and all government departments are completely immobilized.”

El-Hendi said that Baha’is are limited in access to official documents to national ID cards. “These are only for unmarried Baha’is,” he said.